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This is part of Noel Coward's Suite in Two Keys and appears on the Noel Coward Collection DVD set.

Paul Scofield, Deborah Kerr, and June Tobin star in this story of a famous writer, Hugo Latymer ((Scofield) who is awaiting a visit from his long-ago lover, Carlotta, played by Kerr. His wife (Tobin) is uneasy about it. However, we learn that her husband says unkind things to her and often isn't nice, and she's learned to live with it. She was once his loyal secretary.

Kerr and Scofield are terrific together. It turns out that Carlotta, an actress, wants to publish their love letters. Then she announces she has a few other letters too.

Hugo suspects she's there to blackmail him, but Carlotta has another agenda.

Now, someone described this as funny. I actually didn't find it so except in the beginning when Scofield is establishing his snobbish character. It's about what we do one another from a lack of compassion, our treatment of people due to our own agendas, repression, and how memory becomes twisted over time.

Sobering and quite good.

'A Song at Twilight' is the second of Noel Coward's Suite in Two Keys, and perhaps the best of the two. On the face of it this is a comedy but there's a lot more to it - and with Paul Scofield and Deborah Kerr in the cast, there's plenty to watch. Kerr in particular plays it just right - her Carlotta is pure acid in places - while Scofield convinces as the repressed writer about to meet some unsought for truths from his past.

This play is wordy, but funny - as well as delivering some serious messages about tolerance, convenience, and memory. Fascinating to compare with the stage play, recently revived, which stretched perhaps too far to find the comedy. This version of the play gets the balance right and benefits from June Tobin's strong support as the writer's German wife and secretary.

Another one of the play-lets in the Noel Coward Collection from BBC, this one has Paul Scofield and Deborah Kerr; Kerr had starred in An Affair to Remember opposite Cary Grant. The play opens with the writer Hugo (Scofield) and Hilde, who seems to be his wife (June Tobin), discussing his upcoming dinner date with his old flame Carlotta (Deborah Kerr). The conversation for the first act revolves around just how much Hugo will enjoy having dinner with his former love. Then she arrives, and Hilda gets the whole scoop while Hugo is dressing. Bruce Lidington again plays Felix , the butler, and it's entirely too bad that they didn't give him a larger part in this one, as they did in "Come into the Garden Maud", which also had Scofield and Lidington in the cast. While Hugo has always been the more successful author, it turns out that Carlotta has a surprise or two of her own. Interesting story. N. Coward makes you want to watch this one all the way to the end. While this was one of Kerr's last roles, it appears she retired from film and TV a good 20 years before she died in 2007. Kerr had been nominated numerous times, but it was Scofield who won the Oscar for "Man for all Seasons".

Esteemed writer Hugo Latymer entertains old friend, Carlotta Gray, but after writing about her in a less than favourable manner, he's unclear as to the greeting he'll get from her.

I love looking back through The BBC's great archive, I'm constantly reminded how many wonderful shows Auntie has put out, one thing is clear, nobody did costume drama like The Beeb.

I've seen a few Noel Coward productions, some are very well known, some such as this one, I'd say are lesser known, certainly for novices like me.

I rather enjoyed it, I liked the way it played out, its deliberately slow moving, but there's an undertone, you're waiting for the twist, that moment where Carlotta explains exactly what she's after, and the subsequent fallout.

Fallout that wasn't perhaps seen by the masses too often, definitely an interesting twist, considering the time.

The dialogue is comical at times, especially over that lavish dinner. I loved the way Carlotta casually discussed false teeth and face lifts, I wasn't expect either.

Both Deborah Kerr and Paul Schofield hold the screen very well, I'd say both performances are suitable for the type of drama, I loved June Tobin's subtle performance.

8/10.

"Sir Hugo" (Paul Schofield) is an acclaimed author who lives a comfortable life with his wife "Hilde" (June Tobin). Unexpectedly, he finds he is to receive a guest for dinner. "Carlotta" (Deborah Kerr) was an ex-girlfriend many years ago, and it is soon quite clear after her arrival that they didn't part well. Indeed, there is little more between them than a thinly veiled disregard wrapped in polite, if acerbic, dialogue. When she declares the reason for her visit, he wants nothing to do with things and hopes that will be that. She has another weapon in her arsenal though, one he cannot dismiss so readily and when his wife returns from her evening a little the worst for brandy, the triumvirate engage in some engagingly pithy vino veritas conversation that exposes all as people with secrets best kept and grudges best forgotten. There's a sharp chemistry between Schofield and Kerr that is enjoyable to watch as they dance around each other delivering rapier thrusts with varying degrees of success over a dinner of caviar and pink champagne. Director Cedric Messina uses the butler "Felix" (Bruce Lidington) as an useful fire-break for the proceedings, allowing everyone to sit back and recalibrate before the next onslaught into the integrity and ambitions of all concerned. This is a tightly cast adaptation of one of Noël Coward's better stories and one that is well worth a watch.

You might wonder, since I'm not really a Deborah Kerr fan and I can't stand Paul Scofield, why I'd bother to sit through A Song at Twilight. Well, my mom loves Deborah Kerr, so to be nice, I thought I'd rent a movie of hers she hadn't seen. We were so bored, we actually fast-forwarded parts of it.

Paul Scofield plays a famous writer who's married to June Tobin. There's an incredibly long setup in the beginning about how nervous he is to be meeting ex-girlfriend Deborah Kerr after decades. When she finally shows up, they talk in circles, not getting to the point and boring the audience. When they finally do, the audience has long ago guessed Paul's big secret. No offense to Deborah, but this is far from her finest hour. Paul Scofield doesn't really put anything into his performance either, and June Tobin's character seems utterly superfluous.